L Yes I did it. Did not ordered the PDLS light on my build since I was on a budget plus I did not know about the base light only being 25W vs the PDLS being 35w. It turned out the 25w were so dim I could not drive safely at night on our poorly lighted roads full of potholes. I tried and could not see them early enough to react. So I have no choice. Either figure how to improve the lights or risk tire damage at night. I studied the different post about the topic and the different you tube videos on how to remove the front bumper required to remove the head assembly on the 718 series. Found ballast and bulbs for us $195.00 on Amazon. Figured it was a risk worth taking for such an insignificant amount of money. Ordered the Mitsubishi Electric, made in Japan, 35w ballast and D3S Phillips for us$195.00 shipped on Amazon. Got them like a month ago. Was not really sure I should do it on a brand new 2019 Cayman. Agonized about going ahead and tried it or just live with it and hope for the best. Everyone was saying that it required a PIWIS reset and it was such a tedius process to take off the front wheels and the bumper. Last nigh used the car and it was so bad today I woke up set on getting it done once and for all.
Well the good news is that this is such an easy fix. NO NEED TO REMOVE THE FRONT BUMPER AND NO PIWIS REQUIRED. It just took me a couple of hours. Here are the steps with couple of photos i manage to capture.
0. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY.DISCONNECT THE BATTERY.DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!!!!!
1. Lift the front wheels.
2. Remove the front wheel liner. 6 bolts on the wheel well and 4 bolts under the bumper. Each per side.
3. Once the liner is out you have complete access to the ballast and the headlight assembly. No need to remove the assembly. Everything needed to replace ballasts and bulbs is accessible and done from the wheel well. I guess you only need to remove the assembly in case of complete replacement. Unplug the electrical connection to the headlight assembly. Not really need it if the battery was unplug first. But i did just in case. SAFETY FIRST.
4. Remove the ballast. 3 Tork bolts. Pull the ballast and unplug the 2 plugs. Very easy.
5. Remove the 5 bolts with a Phillips screwdriver from the back plate. Remove the plate. This give you access to the bulb.
6. Unplug the Xenon bulb. Remove it. To do that push at the top of the retainer and move to the left at the same time. This will loosen the retainer. Took me a while to figure it out on the first bulb. The second one took me seconds to do. Replace bulb and put back the retainer the same way. Push and move to the side. There is clip that needs to be kept in place to hold the bulb plug. Beware!!!.
7. Here is the only tricky part but easily fix. There is a braided wire cable going from the bulb to the ballast. The only real physical difference between 25w and 35w bulbs and ballast is the security key in the plug so you can only put in a certain way and i guess so in manufacturing there is no mix up between 25 bulbs/ballast and 35w ballast/bulbs. The 25w ballast and bulb have green color female plugs and the 35w ballast and bulb has a black color female plugs. They are the same rectangular shape but with different position locator keys. So you can not plug the original 25w braider wire male connector to the new 35w female connectors because the keys are different. I guess there is a oem braided wire with the right key position for the 35w black female plugs but I’m pretty sure Porsche does not sell it since it is inside the light assembly. So after some observation I figured that I only need it to cut the obstruction(key) with a artist knife or scalpel. Once figure it took me seconds to cut. It is pretty soft plastic. Forgot to take photo. Once removed the plugs went in perfectly.
8. Make sure to plug and bolt the ballast to the back plate before bolting it back into the assembly.
9. Plug back the headlight assembly elecrical connection plug. Reconnect the battery and test t before installing the liners. Should work fine.
Well the good news is that this is such an easy fix. NO NEED TO REMOVE THE FRONT BUMPER AND NO PIWIS REQUIRED. It just took me a couple of hours. Here are the steps with couple of photos i manage to capture.
0. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY.DISCONNECT THE BATTERY.DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!!!!!
1. Lift the front wheels.
2. Remove the front wheel liner. 6 bolts on the wheel well and 4 bolts under the bumper. Each per side.
3. Once the liner is out you have complete access to the ballast and the headlight assembly. No need to remove the assembly. Everything needed to replace ballasts and bulbs is accessible and done from the wheel well. I guess you only need to remove the assembly in case of complete replacement. Unplug the electrical connection to the headlight assembly. Not really need it if the battery was unplug first. But i did just in case. SAFETY FIRST.
4. Remove the ballast. 3 Tork bolts. Pull the ballast and unplug the 2 plugs. Very easy.
5. Remove the 5 bolts with a Phillips screwdriver from the back plate. Remove the plate. This give you access to the bulb.
6. Unplug the Xenon bulb. Remove it. To do that push at the top of the retainer and move to the left at the same time. This will loosen the retainer. Took me a while to figure it out on the first bulb. The second one took me seconds to do. Replace bulb and put back the retainer the same way. Push and move to the side. There is clip that needs to be kept in place to hold the bulb plug. Beware!!!.
7. Here is the only tricky part but easily fix. There is a braided wire cable going from the bulb to the ballast. The only real physical difference between 25w and 35w bulbs and ballast is the security key in the plug so you can only put in a certain way and i guess so in manufacturing there is no mix up between 25 bulbs/ballast and 35w ballast/bulbs. The 25w ballast and bulb have green color female plugs and the 35w ballast and bulb has a black color female plugs. They are the same rectangular shape but with different position locator keys. So you can not plug the original 25w braider wire male connector to the new 35w female connectors because the keys are different. I guess there is a oem braided wire with the right key position for the 35w black female plugs but I’m pretty sure Porsche does not sell it since it is inside the light assembly. So after some observation I figured that I only need it to cut the obstruction(key) with a artist knife or scalpel. Once figure it took me seconds to cut. It is pretty soft plastic. Forgot to take photo. Once removed the plugs went in perfectly.
8. Make sure to plug and bolt the ballast to the back plate before bolting it back into the assembly.
9. Plug back the headlight assembly elecrical connection plug. Reconnect the battery and test t before installing the liners. Should work fine.
